Millennials

Let me begin by stating proudly that I am a millennial student. I may be an anomaly for my generation, but I do not think so. I was in a conference discussion recently and the group of professors began listing the traits of the millennial generation. While some positive attributes were listed, like being tech savvy and passionate about topics, most attributes were taken as negatives. Yes, our parents may be overly involved in our lives and we may be stressed; but look at our role models. We live in a baby boomer centered society and the media focuses on their anxieties and fears. As millennials are so invested in social communities, we see these stresses online and on television. If adults are worried about the economy, so are we. But as they have been through depressions before, we have not. We are not equipped with the historical context to understand our situation, so when we our understandings of the world are berated, it could be because no one has helped us understand the context.
Yes, millennials may have short attention spans, but we can work on it. Yes, multi-tasking may be seen as a negative, but what about serial uni-tasking, as discussed in the section. Is it not a positive thing that we can have multiple focuses in our lives? Won’t that better prepare us for a future of globalized learning and living? Yes, we are impatient because of the immediacy of technology and how we were raised, but couldn’t that be seen as a positive? We are impatient with our situations and the situations of others and will not wait for changes to be made…millennial impatience may be the key to accomplishing many of today’s social justice, intellectual, and human rights tasks.

Flying

When I was younger, Peter Pan was my favorite film...not just the Disney version, but also the Mary Martin one...I always wanted to be able to fly, to explore new places, travel, and see the world...

I have been flying on airplanes since I was 6 months old, and somewhere along the way, I have developed this fear of flying.

I hate the feeling you get before lift-off and the descent. Every moment of turbulence leaves me clinging to my seat, praying to every god I know (and as a student of religion, I know a LOT of gods). On a recent and quite turbulent flight to London, I kept repeating my mantra of "healthy, safe, and happy flight." The person next to me must have thought I was really special.

Being with people I know does not help, as my family will tell you. I don't like being alone, yet I get cranky and annoyed with people talking to me...at the same time, too quiet a trip and eerie feelings take hold.

I hate waiting for planes, I like to be the first one to disembark, I even hate the smell of musk, used air, and vomit...

As I leave today to go to Montreal with my pals Jim and Olivia they should just know this: my normally bubbly personality vanishes and all that will be left of me is a trembling little girl clinging to Olivia's hand...